How To Complain About A Colleague

A lawyer friend of mine has to deal with such a person on a daily basis. The culprit is a senior partner in the firm she works at who seems to enjoy abusing just about everyone he comes into contact with. He yells, he screams and in general, likes to make people feel small. The problem is that he is the best closer the firm has. I advised my friend to steer clear of him and avoid his mad tirades but it proved unrealistic. And herein lies the classic quandary.

talk amongst yourselves

When you have done all you can to avoid a co-worker with whom you have a beef, and when you have done your all to concentrate on the quality of your job performance to no avail, it is time to address the matter firsthand.

My advice would be to sit down with the party in question and have it out. Be civil but firm and discuss the problem between the two of you that is the cause of so much strife. Do not back out in the middle of the conversation for fear of insult or harm. You need to be honest and open and as we know, the truth can hurt.

It may be difficult to hear what your colleague has to say about you and vice versa but in order to move on, it is necessary. Remember that business is business and that a conflict must be dealt with in a swift and decisive fashion, for the sake of the company's bottom line. Personal feelings must be kept at bay: such is the sacrifice of being a team player.

run and tell

Now that we can assume that you have exhausted the avenue of reconciliation and attempted to resolve the problem yourself, we can explore the next step should your efforts not bear fruit.

If you have spoken one-on-one with the individual and everything is status quo or worse, my advice would be to go to management. Should your complaint be with management, go to the next logical level of authority. Everyone has to be accountable to someone.

Your approach should depend on the extent of your complaint. Make a production out of a small argument and the perception will be that you like to cry wolf and have thin skin. Not the best reputation to have if you want to climb the corporate ladder. Again, I would advise firm confidence.